Prince Saru watched us intently as we walked through the empty room to him. His gaze was like a hawk flying above, surveying the scene. He was examining every detail of me before turning to his mother. With one look, he had made a decision.
Aunt Juni walked up to the throne and stiffly kissed his forehead beneath his brown curls. I stayed back with my mother. When she bowed at the waist, I did the same. I waited until she brought her head up before I followed.
“Cousin Hepa, you failed to mention you had a child,” Prince Saru began by scolding my mother.
Aunt Juni stood beside us, and replied before my mother could.
“Really? I knew,” she replied.
“And you failed to tell me?” Prince Saru replied.
Aunt Juni casually shrugged. “It must have slipped my mind. I’m getting older after all.”
I was sure that wasn’t the case.
“You vouch for her, Mother?” Prince Saru asked suspiciously. He didn’t believe his mother had forgotten either, but he didn’t seem to want to call her out on it.
“I wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t,” Aunt Juni replied. “Besides, you’d have to be blind to not see the resemblance, even if she were disguised. Everything about her, except for her eyes, is her mother’s.” I liked how she threw in a dig at her evil daughter-in-law. I got the feeling there was no love between the queen and her princess daughter-in-law.
Prince Saru stood and walked down the two steps to where we were standing. He stopped right in front of me, and I kept my gaze steady, straight ahead. Prince Saru walked around me to view me from every angle. He returned in front of me and lifted my face to look into my eyes. His grip was pinching me, but I refused to show that it hurt. He nodded as if he were answering his own question in his head.
“Who is your father?” he asked.
“I have no idea,” I replied. I had a feeling that honesty was the best policy with this man.
“Where have you been living?”
“With a man I thought was my grandfather. I just found out he wasn’t,” I answered.
Prince Saru let go of my face and walked back up to the throne. He sat down with some elegance and lots of arrogance. He took his time getting comfortable, and we all waited and watched him. He liked to be the center of attention. His wife waited eagerly beside him and was much less patient.
“She’s telling the truth,” he said to his wife, though we could hear him also.
“But, but…” Lady Saska began to argue, her eagerness turning to anger as she sputtered.
“Who is her father?” Prince Saru asked my mother.
“I don’t know,” my mother replied. Prince Saru nodded. He didn’t seem upset that he thought he had been lied to.
I knew that was a lie, but it didn’t seem that Prince Saru could read her as easily as me. I had a bit to learn about this world my mother lived in.
“How old is she?” he asked my mother. I no longer existed in the conversation.
“Nineteen,” my mom replied.
“Impossible,” Lady Saska replied. I looked at her and had no idea why she would care. “She only looks fifteen.”
“And I only look to be in my mid-twenties,” my mom replied. “Life has been kind to us.”
And not you, I wanted to reply. Lady Saska looked much older than my mother, but I got the feeling now that she was actually younger.
“So it has. We will be telling suitors that she is fifteen,” Prince Saru replied.
“Suitors?” I asked, and then quickly covered my mouth. I wasn’t to talk.
“Yes, suitors,” Prince Saru said. “As a royal you will be expected to marry soon. You should have been married already by your age, but I assume by you coming here that means that you are not. I have several allies that are in need of an extra wife. You’d be a suitable trade for protection.”
Lady Saska’s unhappy face returned to its smile. She seemed to like the idea of me being married off.
“I have several dignitaries here today. We’ll announce at Hepa’s farewell dinner that I’m looking for a husband for you,” Prince Saru replied. Prince Saru looked at me, but his eyes said he was far away in thought. “Yes, this will work quite well.” Prince Saru said to himself. He stood up and began to walk away without another word. His wife stood and trailed after him like a puppy looking for attention.
Aunt Juni nodded to my mother, who took my hand and led me back through the small hall and into the larger room. Prince Saru was already talking to one group of men that were lounging around the bigger room. The men looked up at me as I passed. All three of the older bearded men smiled. My mother kept walking and didn’t stop until we were back in her room.
Aunt Juni stuck her head in the doorway, where her maids couldn’t hear her as she whispered. “Get this child out of here before tomorrow. He will have her promised to someone by then.”
My mom nodded and shut her room door.
“You need to leave now,” my mother told me.
“I won’t leave without you,” I replied. I wasn’t backing down on that argument.
“Fine, then I’ll leave with you,” she told me. I had won. My mother would do anything for me, and I knew it. Maybe it wasn’t fair to play her like that, but I needed her back in the future. She was my mother after all.
I looked down at my hand. The lines would soon be complete. We both would be able to leave. I just needed to make sure Logan was ready with the guys.
“Logan,” I called quietly.
Logan appeared in the room.
“Mrs. Navina,” he said to my mother.
My mother stared at my ex-boyfriend. His sandy blond hair and boyish smile were exactly the same as when he dated me, no matter the clothing he now wore. She had to be shocked to see him.
“Turns out he is Mr. Sangre’s biological son,” I told my mom to keep her from asking anything more.
My mom just nodded. That was enough for her.
“Logan, we need to get out of here tonight,” I told him. “I kind of had to use my travel to not get caught earlier. I can’t leave now, but it should be fine tonight. We need to leave then. Will the guys be ready?”
“Yes, tonight it will be,” Logan replied.
My mother looked between us.
“Logan is helping us escape, and making sure that everyone is safe,” I told her. “He can travel and take people with him. We just need to find a time to sneak away tonight when no one will notice we are gone.”
“There is a dinner tonight we need to attend. It will be full of drunk people by the end. We could leave then, and they won’t notice we’re gone for hours,” my mother added.
“That sounds good. When you find a moment alone, I’ll come and take her first, and then come back for the guys,” Logan replied. He had obviously realized he didn’t leave me the stone. I nodded to Logan, and he disappeared.
We stayed in my mother’s room until dinnertime. She didn’t want me around the other women, and she surely really didn’t want me talking to them. Her world was much more complicated than I ever knew. By the time dinner arrived my lines were fully charged, and I could travel at any moment, yet I still didn’t trust Logan. I wanted him to take my mom and Dee, and then I’d be gone with Seth before he returned.
When it was time to get ready, although I had already dressed for the day, my mother explained it wouldn’t be enough. She got us ready for the dinner. My mother had a chest full of elaborate dresses. We were about the same size, so it was easy to find something in her collection for me. After dresses, she decked us out with jewels on our arms, ears, hair, and even our feet, which wouldn’t be seen under the long dresses we wore.
When we finished, Aunt Juni came in with more jewelry than my mom had already put on the both of us, and hair dressers to give us both the same hair styles. It looked like she was doing her best to continue to play up our relationship. She didn’t speak beyond telling people what to do the whole time, but her eyes gave away that she knew more. It seemed like
she wanted to say more, but she was never alone to be able to do so. I was unsure if it was her son or her daughter-in-law’s doing, but Aunt Juni was as trapped as my mother. I felt bad for my elder aunt. This wasn’t a world for women. When everything was deemed ready, Aunt Juni left us alone to be summoned to the party.
Aunt Juni paused by me before she left the room. “Take care of her,” she told me. She already guessed we were making plans to leave. I wondered how much my mother had told her, but it wasn’t like I could ask.
I sat down beside my mother on her bed while we waited. It was already dark outside, and I was ready to get this ridiculous dinner over with and take my mother home.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you any of this,” my mother said.
“I don’t think I would have believed you,” I replied, which made her smile. It was true. If my mother told me she was royalty from thousands of years before the twenty-first century, I would have laughed. Then I would have asked her to see a shrink. What we were doing now seemed beyond surreal. There was nothing to be sorry about.
“I should have at least told you more about your father,” my mom added. That much I would have liked to have known.
“When we get home, we’ll have plenty of time for that. You can tell me everything,” I said. My mom smiled and nodded.
“You’re so much like him. I’m glad that you inherited your father’s logic also.” She put her arm around me, and we leaned our heads together.
“But I got your heart.” I snuggled into her arm. It was true. Even though at times I thought I was the exact opposite of her, I did have her compassion.
She kept her arms around me as we waited. No matter what time, or where we had to go, she was my mother and always would be. I watched lady after lady be escorted past our room and got the feeling we would be last. That was okay, though. I was happy where we were. It had been years since we had sat alone for so long. I was always a momma’s girl as a child, but once I was a teen I was never home, or she was too busy. We rarely had time anymore to eat a meal before we had to get to our obligations. I kind of missed being a child. Now, sitting beside her brought back all the memories. My mother was a great mom. The fact that she ran away from this world to give me a good life alone made her world’s best mom, and even now she was trying to protect me from it.
“If you could do anything, and live in any time, what would you do?” I asked.
My mom smiled. “I’d find your father. I know he’s probably married with children by now, if he’s still alive, but I’m sure he would still love me. You only find true love like that once a life time. You’ll know it someday.”
I nodded along with her. That was Seth to me, a once-in-a-lifetime find. I hated to think of him now, and how worried he would be, but I couldn’t help but smile as I did. Just picturing Seth made me smile. My mother noticed.
“You found yours, didn’t you?” my mom said. I wasn’t going to say anything more to complicate matters. I just nodded. “Is he cute?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Is he available? Going after people with girlfriends never works,” my mom added. I almost laughed. It was just like my mom to sit here giving me love advice as we were on our way to a dinner where I was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
“Not anymore,” I replied.
“Aww, honey. I wish I could meet this guy right now. You’ll have to bring him home to your grandfather’s for dinner when we get back,” she added. I liked that she was already making plans for the future. I thought I’d have to force her to return.
I didn’t know if I should tell her the truth about Seth. She didn’t ask about Logan bringing more people to the future, but I figured she would need to know. She was going to meet him sooner than later. I just hoped she wouldn’t get mad.
“About that guy I like,” I said. I needed to tell her.
“Lady Hepa and daughter, could you please join us?” a servant said, bowing to us from the doorway.
“Yes, honey?” my mother ignored the servant.
“Never mind,” I added. It wasn’t the time to tell her.
My mother stood and pulled me up with her. She took my hand, and we left together. The servant led us back into the open courtyard. It was strange to see it lit by lamps as the sun was setting. Yes, Seth would be beyond worried. The courtyard was empty, except for one last lady that was standing near the columns.
Lady Saska smiled as we approached. That wasn’t a good sign.
“My husband agreed with me that we should probably use you as an alliance with the Assyrians. They have several royal families looking for wives. Lord Enil just lost his fourth wife in childbirth. I think you would make a great wife for him,” Lady Saska taunted us. I had no idea who she was talking about, but the suggestion did seem to anger my mother.
“We might even be able to get you together with him tonight,” Lady Saska added. “He does like to try out his wives before bringing them back with him.”
My mother glared at Lady Saska. The princess was just trying to upset my mother, and it was working. But I still didn’t understand; why was she determined to throw me to random men? Was she that set on hurting my mother? Or did she have something against me? Maybe it was women in general that threatened her. Lady Saska was just one of those plain old mean people. She smiled at my mother’s anger. She had to have something against my mother. I was just a pawn to get her upset.
I tugged on my mother’s hand as our guides continued to walk through the courtyard. My mom followed behind me as I followed the servant.
“We are not going anywhere with any men tonight,” I told my mother. Her anger calmed a little. “She’s just playing you.”
“I know, sweetie. I know. It’s just that this is what I wanted to protect you from,” my mom told me.
“And it’s what I’m going to protect you from now,” I added, squeezing her hand.
My mom smiled. “You grew up too fast. You do know that.”
“Not grown up enough that I still don’t need my mom,” I replied as we turned another corner. “Don’t leave me.”
My mother smiled and squeezed my hand back.
“Never, honey, never,” she said as we arrived at our destination.
We were led back to the same ornately decorated room from earlier. We stopped behind our guides and waited while the music stopped, and Prince Saru said something. Then we were allowed to enter. I felt like an animal on display as all eyes turned to us. Many men in the room stared greedily at me. I hated being paraded around like that, but I kept my chin up and walked behind my mother. There were only two empty seats, which were really just pillows on the floor; it was no question where we were to be seated. I looked around at all the faces watching us. We were truly the center of attention and I was out of my element. I counted it as life lesson number thirty-nine: dealing with strangers in a strange land. It was something I’d have to get used to. Let the games begin.
Chapter 10
Escaping the Past
The dinner was more elaborate than I expected, and much more casual. People were all seated when we arrived. But it wasn’t until after Lady Saska arrived that the meal was served, and no one sat still. People milled about from table to table, and everyone talked to everyone while meals were be served and eaten. We had to have been seated at the most popular table as every man between twenty and fifty stopped by to introduce themselves. It was because my mother’s cousin had informed all who were present that I was to be married off. Each man thought I had a choice in the matter and tried to impress me.
The men were all a variety in age, coloring, and dress. There was the old guy that brought his grown sons with him. His sons would have been a more suitable age match, but I had the distinct feeling that he was the one looking for a wife. Another man stopped by who was as wide as he was tall. Yet another was barely a teen, and his mother introduced him to me. That would make a really good match, considering he probably hadn’t even hit puberty yet… I would have
laughed at the display if I didn’t know how close my life could have been to that. My mother found no humor in it, and reservedly greeted each person.
Her own future husband wasn’t around. It seemed the king was too busy to come himself. He had ordered one of his sons to come in his place to collect my mother. He son was cordial, but I could see him sneaking glances at Lady Saska. I had no doubts about who had planned where my mother would be going. I kind of wondered if my mother would actually make it there or not. The evil soon-to-be queen appeared more than thrilled each time she looked at my mother sitting next to the king’s son.
It wasn’t until halfway through the meal that a tingle shot down my arm. Seth had arrived. I hadn’t thought that he’d be invited, but he was the ambassador from Egypt for the time being, even if he refused to stay in the palace. Seth arrived dressed in his Egyptian military garb, yet somehow he seemed more regal than most of the men in the room. Maybe it was because he wasn’t afraid to be half naked in front of a room full of ogling women, and yes, they were all ogling my boyfriend, or maybe it was just the way he held himself. Seth was born for the role he was playing. The prince greeted him like all the other guests, even though it was only days before that he denied Seth my mother to take back to Egypt.
Seth entered the feast and sat where room was made for him, between two women. He watched me from across the room as Dee stood behind him. I tried not to stare back. I couldn’t give away that I knew him since that would put him in danger. He talked with the men and women at his table and carried on like he had attended many of these meals. I watched as people around him laughed at his story. I was jealous. Seth was mine. When he stood and walked around the room, it was obvious he knew several of the people present.
“The young Egyptian is one to look at,” my mother commented to me quietly.
I looked back down at my mostly full plate when Seth caught my stare again. He only smirked. He was fine playing the playboy of the room. I got the feeling that the man I met back in my time was actually pretty close to his normal personality in his own time. The women around him were all fawning over him. I had to stop looking. It was making me upset.